New beginnings: Heart Media Group CEO Olivier Burlot talks about relaunching Elle in Singapore
Elle has always been a good fit for Olivier Burlot. After arriving in Asia from France in 1994, his first assignment as business development manager at Hachette-Filipacchi was overseeing the iconic fashion magazine in Hong Kong and Taiwan.
So, when late last year, Lagardère Group struck up a licensing agreement with Heart Media Group, where Burlot is now CEO, to relaunch Elle Singapore, it felt like putting on a comfortable – and very stylish – suit.
“I just love the brand,” he enthuses. “In the 1990s I pushed Elle all across Asia and it was amazing. And during that time, we crafted a motto, which was ‘think globally, but act locally’ – something which I think is still very valid in the sense that we have a great global concept, a great global brand, but at the same time, I’m the only Caucasian in the team.
“My whole team here is composed of Singaporeans, and I’m a very strong believer that the person helming the media is the one talking to his or her audience. We have Charmaine Ho who will be heading Elle from 2024 onwards who is a very shrewd journalist and really knows what kind of audience the magazine has.
“We have 60% of the magazine produced locally and 40% taken from international. We have our own photo studio in the office, a whole network of very strong photographers in Singapore and a lot of very strong local content.”
Having dealt with licensing agreements for three decades, Burlot, who also oversaw the launch of Grazia in Singapore and Malaysia and Esquire Singapore, has seen the relationship between brand owners and licensees evolve over the years, with good communication becoming increasingly important.
“When you deal with licenses, communication is key,” he says. “If you think a license is granted forever, you are just wrong. I’m very cautious in terms of communicating the right things both in terms of editorial feedback, but also in terms of performance. I have seen some local partners who feel that this is a once in a year kind of homework. It’s not. We communicate with our partners in New York and Milan and now in Paris on a monthly basis.
“Fifteen years ago, it was very easy to just talk to the HQ once in a year, but today you can’t. You have to fully understand what the expectations are from the HQ in terms of DNA and also performance. The biggest change in licensing has definitely been interactivity.”
A land of opportunity
When Heart Media’s first issue of Elle Singapore hits shelves in March, it will hold up a mirror to a small but ambitious nation that punches well above its weight when it comes to its sphere of influence.
“We have giants next door like China, Japan – which is still a major media market – and Indonesia, and Singapore has 5.5 million people, so it’s a rather small market and one that is exposed to other countries,” says Burlot.
“Singapore is seen as a bit of a show window for luxury brands, fashion brands, watch brands and obviously for media. When your media does well in Singapore, it gives you a lot of clout to expand in Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia and so on. So, while Singapore is small, in terms of strategic importance, it’s actually substantial.”
Burlot describes the typical readership of Elle Singapore as “intelligent women who love to be stylish in every aspect of their life while being an actor of the society.” It’s a characteristic shaped by a fair amount of wanderlust.
“A substantial number of women in Singapore have been studying abroad and got a taste for what’s happening in Australia,” he adds. “UK is also a very popular destination for students and so is Canada, US and Europe. Many of our readers have experienced this international exposure and we see that they have this openness.
“We are trying to really position Elle as a way to open minds to what’s exciting, what’s new, what’s innovative. It’s for this target audience of 25-35 who have a positive mindset. We have really built on this idea of being part of a community of same-spirited people, it is something which in Asia is working very well.”
Finding credibility through print
While women’s lifestyle magazines have moved with the times in Singapore, one thing that has stayed the same – a love and respect for print. “Asia is still a very good region to be in as a publisher and print is really seen as having credibility in a fast-changing digital world where it’s very easy to launch a website,” says Burlot.
“Print is seen as a media house that really has journalists, people who are able to write, able to do a report, able to do an analysis, compared with the very, very quick-to-consume digital products.
“Based on print, we are able to develop websites, we are able to develop databases, we’re able to develop social media. Elle in Singapore has over half a million online followers but print is still here and has a very strong element of credibility.”
Burlot reveals that Heart Media on a monthly basis works with over 400 brands across watches, fashion, yachts, property and cars who are only too happy to make print a big part of their media plan.
“The credibility that print gives us is crucial in this part of the world where you also have a lot of fake news, where you have a lot of mass websites where there is little control in terms of content.
“Print reassures readers and fashion lovers that you have journalists – real media people. We are so flooded with digital news that print is a way of escaping that kind of over consumerism over digitalisation.”
Such is the popularity of print that Heart Media is increasing its distribution of the number of copies it sends to each lounge at airports, because people keep walking off with the magazines.
“That’s interesting because five or 10 years ago it was all about the death of print, which in our case in Singapore, in Malaysia, in Vietnam, is not the case at all. Obviously, digital is huge, but again, when you want a very controlled environment, when you want to really highlight the message, print still stays a very strong platform.”
An indication of just how popular lifestyle magazines are in the region is the fact that Lagardère has asked Heart Media to look into expanding Elle into neighbouring countries.
“There used to be an Elle version in Malaysia, which was stopped a few years ago, when there was this kind of big debate about print,” says Burlot. “Today we see a return to more substantial and credible content and Lagardère is pushing us to look at some other markets. So, we will. It’s a great brand. It’s a great product.”
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